Fairy Tale Grab Bags

​Students often have a difficult time picking a topic to write a thesis about. They also get stuck researching the topic. It's anything BUT a fairy tale when teachers ask middle school students to write.

​This activity solves that problem by giving students bags with the materials they need to form thesis statements. You'll be surprised with the interesting and fun ideas kids generate based on these tried and true fairy tales.​ Teachers can extend the activity by asking students to write a thesis-driven essay based on their statement or to develop research skills, you can challenge students to develop their own grab bags to share with their classmates. Once you get the idea, make your own bags based on current class topics from historical happenings to current events.

Fact sheet on Schenck v United States 1919 (Freedom of Speech), highlighting the Holmes quote, "the most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing panic."​